Today's Words: tempestuous, thermodynamics

tempestuous
thermodynamics

tempestuous: \těm-pěs'chōō-əs\; characterized by violent emotions or behavior; tumultuous; stormy.

thermodynamics: \thûr'mō-dī-nām'ĭks\; the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy or work, and the conversion of one into the other: modern thermodynamics deals with the properties of systems for the description of which temperature is a necessary coordinate.

Today's Words: taxonomy, tectonic

taxonomy
tectonic

taxonomy: \tāk-sŏn'ə-mē\; The scientific classification of organisms into specially named groups based either on shared characteristics or on evolutionary relationships as inferred from the fossil record or established by genetic analysis; the science, laws, or principles of classification; systematics; division into ordered groups or categories.

tectonic: \těk-tŏn'ĭk\; relating to, causing, or resulting from structural deformation of the earth's crust; of or pertaining to construction or architecture.

Jury Duty Scam

The following was posted on the fbi.com Web site June 2, 2006. I am posting this now because I just received it in an email from a friend. Pass this to everyone you know...

The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he’ll need some information for “verification purposes”—your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.

This is when you should hang up the phone. It’s a scam.

Jury scams have been around for years, but have seen a resurgence in recent months. Communities in more than a dozen states have issued public warnings about cold calls from people claiming to be court officials seeking personal information. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail

The scam’s bold simplicity may be what makes it so effective. Facing the unexpected threat of arrest, victims are caught off guard and may be quick to part with some information to defuse the situation.

“They get you scared first,” says a special agent in the Minneapolis field office who has heard the complaints. “They get people saying, ‘Oh my gosh! I’m not a criminal. What’s going on?’” That’s when the scammer dangles a solution-a fine, payable by credit card, that will clear up the problem.

With enough information, scammers can assume your identity and empty your bank accounts.

”It seems like a very simple scam,” the agent adds. The trick is putting people on the defensive, then reeling them back in with the promise of a clean slate. “It’s kind of ingenious. It’s social engineering.”

In recent months, communities in Florida, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, California, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Hampshire reported scams or posted warnings or press releases on their local websites. In August, the federal court system issued a warning on the scam and urged people to call their local District Court office if they receive suspicious calls. In September, the FBI issued a press release about jury scams and suggested victims also contact their local FBI field office.

In March, USA.gov, the federal government’s information website, posted details about jury scams in their Frequently Asked Questions area. The site reported scores of queries on the subject from website visitors and callers seeking information.

The jury scam is a simple variation of the identity-theft ploys that have proliferated in recent years as personal information and good credit have become thieves’ preferred prey, particularly on the Internet. Scammers might tap your information to make a purchase on your credit card, but could just as easily sell your information to the highest bidder on the Internet’s black market.

Protecting yourself is the key: Never give out personal information when you receive an unsolicited phone call.

Check it out here: www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm
And here: www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

Fascinating Stories: Lost Temples of India

Mysteries of Asia: The Lost Temples of India

Today's Words: supercilious, tautology

supercilious
tautology

supercilious: \sōō'pər-sĭl'ē-əs\; having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy; expressive of contempt.

tautology: \tô-tŏl'ə-jē\; (logic) an empty or vacuous statement composed of simpler statements in a fashion that makes it logically true whether the simpler statements are factually true or false; for example, the statement Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain tomorrow; needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy; “to say that something is ‘adequate enough’ is a tautology.”

Today's Words: subjugate, suffragist

subjugate
suffragist

subjugate: \sŭb'jə-gāt'\; to bring under control; conquer; to make subservient; enslave.

suffragist: \sŭf'rə-jĭst\; an advocate of the extension of political voting rights, especially to women.

Today's Words: sanguine, soliloquy

sanguine
soliloquy

sanguine: \sāng'gwĭn\; of a healthy, reddish color; ruddy; of the color of blood; red; cheerfully confident; optimistic.

soliloquy: \sə-lĭl'ə-kwē\; the act of speaking to oneself; a dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener; a specific speech or piece of writing in this form of discourse.

Today's Words: reparation, respiration

reparation
respiration

reparation: \rěp'ə-rā'shən\; the act or process of repairing or the condition of being repaired; the act or process of making amends; expiation; something done or paid to compensate or make amends; reparations—compensation or remuneration required from a defeated nation as indemnity for damage or injury during a war.

respiration: \rěs'pə-rā'shən\; the metabolic processes whereby certain organisms obtain energy from organic molecules; processes that take place in the cells and tissues during which energy is released and carbon dioxide is produced and absorbed by the blood to be transported to the lungs; a single complete act of breathing in and out; “thirty respirations per minute”; the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation.

Fascinating Stories: Can We Save Planet Earth?

Can We Save Planet Earth?

Can We Save Planet Earth? was released on June 1, 2006 on the BBC and The Discovery Channel as the second of a two-part series, the other entitled, Are We Changing Planet Earth?

The documentary is presented by acclaimed filmmaker David Attenborough as he discusses the science and implications of climate change and what we can do to stop climate change. [2006, Length: 58:53]

Today's Words: recapitulate, reciprocal

recapitulate
reciprocal

recapitulate: \rē'kə-pĭch'ə-lāt'\; to review by a brief summary, as at the end of a speech or discussion; summarize; to repeat in concise form; to make a summary.

reciprocal: \rĭ-sĭp'rə-kəl\; the number by which a given number must be multiplied to get a result of one (the reciprocal of one-half, for example, is two); concerning each of two or more persons or things; especially given or done in return; performed, experienced, or felt by both sides.

Fascinating Stories: Are We Changing Planet Earth?

Are We Changing Planet Earth?

The global warming documentary Are We Changing Planet Earth? was released on May 24, 2006 on the BBC and The Discovery Channel as the first of a two-part series, the other entitled, Can We Save Planet Earth? will appear in a future post.

The documentary is presented by acclaimed filmmaker David Attenborough as he discusses the science and implications of climate change. [2006, Length: 57:52]

Today's Words: quasar, quotidian

quasar
quotidian

quasar: \kwā'zär', -sär', -zər, -sər\; an extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy; a starlike object that may send out radio waves and other forms of energy; many have large red shifts.

quotidian: \kwō-tĭd'ē-ən\; everyday; commonplace; recurring daily.

Today's Words: polymer, precipitous

polymer
precipitous

polymer: \pŏl'ə-mər\; a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers.

precipitous: \prĭ-sĭp'ĭ-təs\; done with very great haste and without due deliberation; extremely or impassably steep.

Fascinating Stories: Threads

Threads

Threads is a 1984 television docudrama depicting the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom and its aftermath. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, Threads was filmed in late 1983 and early 1984.

The premise of Threads was to hypothesize the effects of a nuclear war on the United Kingdom after an exchange between the Soviet Union and the United States escalates to include the UK. [1984, Length: 1:47:45]

Today's Words: plagiarize, plasma

plagiarize
plasma

plagiarize: \plā'jə-rīz'\; to use and pass off (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own; to appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from (another).

plasma: \plāz'mə\; the colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes) are suspended; an electrically neutral, highly ionized gas composed of ions, electrons, and neutral particles; it is a phase of matter distinct from solids, liquids, and normal gases.

Today's Words: pecuniary, photosynthesis

pecuniary
photosynthesis

pecuniary: \pĭ-kyōō'nē-ěr'ē\; relating to or involving money;

photosynthesis: \fō'tō-sĭn'thĭ-sĭs\; the process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.

Today's Words: paradigm, parameter

paradigm
parameter

paradigm: \pār'ə-dīm', -dĭm'\; one that serves as a pattern or model; a set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb; a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

parameter: \pə-rām'ĭ-tər\; any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance; a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves.

Fascinating Stories: Paradise Found

Paradise Found
A Documentary on Islamic Architecture

Paradise. We imagine many things when we think of this word. However, we do not think about Islamic Architecture, which influenced the art of Europe so profoundly. This documentary tours through the Muslim world, in search of that “atmosphere of Paradise,” hidden away in mosques and palaces. [Length: 1:33:25]

Visit www.IslamicVideos.net for more videos like this!

Today's Words: oxidize, parabola

oxidize
parabola

oxidize: \ŏk'sĭ-dīz'\; to combine with oxygen; make into an oxide; to increase the positive charge or valence of (an element) by removing electrons; to coat with oxide.

parabola: \pə-rāb'ə-lə\; a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone or by the locus of points equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point not on the line.

Fascinating Stories: Invisible Children

Invisible Children

In the spring of 2003, three young Americans traveled to Africa in search of such as story. What they found was a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them. A story where children are weapons and children are the victims. The “Invisible Children: rough cut” film exposes the effects of a 20-year-long war on the children of Northern Uganda. These children live in fear of abduction by rebel soldiers, and are being forced to fight as a part of violent army. This wonderfully reckless documentary is fast paced, with an MTV beat, and is something truly unique. To see Africa through young eyes is humorous and heart breaking, quick and informative—all in the very same breath. See this film, you will be forever changed. [Length: 55:08]

Visit www.invisiblechildren.com for more info.